


The Fire is Coming

by Moody_Akira



Series: Run [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Death, F/M, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Violence, porn on the side, related to a song tbh, sin - Freeform, this is dark as fuck so please read the tags, this is long as fuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-04-18 23:31:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4724327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moody_Akira/pseuds/Moody_Akira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>WARNING: THIS FIC HAS VERY DARK AND HEAVY THEMES SUCH AS RAPE, DEATH, TORTURE, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS. TURN BACK IF THESE TRIGGER YOU.</p><p>An AU where Max has no time travel powers and there is no doomsday, and Nathan is very fond of her. Mark Jefferson has his eye on her from the moment she blamed him for the death of Kate Marsh. </p><p>So how does Nathan react when he sees her walk into the boys' dormitory only in her bra and panties, drugged out of her mind from a Vortex Party?</p><p> </p><p>DISCONTINUED</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The Start of it All

**Author's Note:**

> This AU is going to be sectioned off into parts. and this is part one. Don't worry, this gets so much worse. I worked on this with my friends Jazmin and Mothra, so credit is going to them as well. I'm just the scribe and part of the creation that is just so unholy. enjoy. PLEASE HEED THE WARNING IN THE SUMMARY.

She had to splash some water on her face. Today was just not her day. Victoria humiliated her in Jefferson’s class once again.   
Fucking Daguerreian process. How could Victoria be so mean to her of all people?  Did she have anything better to do that humiliate her and poor Kate Marsh?

Max Caulfield’s trek to the bathroom was short. Upon swinging the burnt red door open to reveal cold blue tile and graffiti on the walls and mirrors. She felt too warm. Chillax, Max. Jesus christ.

The running tap water splashed against the rectangular basin noisily. The sound of rushing water calmed Max down already.   
Small hands dipped under the cool liquid, cupping it in her hands, washing it over her flushed face.   
And she was back in her reality. A dull reality. Blackwell was supposed to be a new chapter in her life. But all she encountered were assholes and needless drama in the poorly lit hallways in the school and her dorm.

  
_“Max has a gift.”_

She shuddered. Those words were ones of praise, but the condescending look on Mark Jefferson’s face was one that sent chills running down her spine. He smirked at her. Like he knew something she didn’t.

Her trance was broken when a blue butterfly caught her eye, just fluttering in the grim bathroom. It took its perch on a bucket behind one of the stalls in the bathroom. This was picture perfect moment.   
Oh god how cheesy.

The camera whirred softly as she removed the small polaroid from the slot, and just as she was going to leave, the door swung open again.   
It was a school bathroom, nothing out of the ordinary. But the person entering was anything but normal.

“Just chill, Nathan. You got this.” A frantic voice. A boy’s voice.

Why the hell was there a guy, Nathan Prescott for that matter, in the girls’ bathroom? And why was he talking to himself? What a fucking creep.   
He kept muttering to himself, hunched over the sink. He was shaking. It wasn’t even that cold in the bathroom, and he had a stupid red varsity jacket on.

Another slam followed him not even two minutes later. A girl with cerulean blue hair. Her face was one twisted with anger and hatred.   
And Max cowered in her corner, afraid to even make herself be known to the arguing pair in the bathroom.   
  


“You don’t know who I **AM** or **WHAT** you’re **DEALING WITH**! I am just so _SICK_ of people trying to control me!” Nathan yelled, pulling a gun from his jacket.   
  


Max’s blood ran cold. The gun said it all. He was going to kill this girl.

In her fear, she backed away and she knocked over the custodian’s mop and bucket over with a loud clanging noise.

 _Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck_! Max felt her skin crawl. He was going to notice her too and kill her. This was not the way she wanted to go out. Not in a gross bathroom. Not to a psycho who talked to himself in the bathroom.

But the arguing stopped. Nathan looked around the bathroom, trying to located the source of where that obnoxious noise came from. Without him looking, the blue haired girl fled the bathroom, unharmed. And there was Max, alone with some crazy, gun-toting jackass in the bathroom.   
At least she saved the other girl’s life, right?

“What the hell are you doing in here?” She heard him snap. Nathan stood above her, gun out of sight. His face was distressed and he was clearly angry. But something about him looked...sad...

“This is a GIRLS’ bathroom! I have every right to be in here!” She snapped back at him. How dare he? How dare he just barge in on her and he just flail a gun around like he owned the place. Nathan Prescott was one to be feared, but max would not put up with this bullshit. Not now. “You know what, forget it. I’m out of here.”

Pulling herself back up from the ground, she dusted the dirt from her pants and stormed out. Her picture was still torn up from before. Not even ten minutes ago, she was freaking out about something so trivial she could laugh. But now she had other things to be concerned about. Namely the asshole that still stood in the girls’ bathroom.

* * *

 

He was in deep shit. He could not have fucked up even more. Nathan’s hands were shaking. He was sweating bullets. And the goddamn jacket he donned was not helping him in the slightest, but how else would he hide those shameful scars that littered up and down his arms?

The first place he thought was the bathroom. Stupid ass had to pick the GIRLS’ BATHROOM of all places. But at the time he didn’t care. The gun in his pocket was a dead weight on him. Part of him didn’t know why he had it in the first place. The smooth gun was a birthday present from his father, and for some reason, he felt...safer when it was on him.

Not like Sean Prescott made him feel safe in the slightest. He didn’t even feel safe at the school that claimed to be a safe haven for all the Prescotts. No. Not him with that MONSTER roaming the hallways, scourging his new prey.

But here he was, hunched over the sink, trying effortlessly to convince himself that he had everything under control. He is a Prescott. He needs to have control of everything. He **NEEDS TO BE.**

His hands were shaking. And when that blue hair bitch came into the bathroom, his anxiety was dialed up to fifty. Why was SHE here?   
  


“And I’ll tell everyone that Nathan Prescott is a pussy ass bitch  who talks to himself in the bathroom!”

That was the final straw.   
The weight transferred to his hand and now he was an asshole for scaring this cunt with HIS gun. She didn’t know what he was going through. Did she really and honestly think that he wanted to drug her and did she think that he took the picture? Colors made him sick to his stomach.

“You don’t know who I **AM** or **WHAT** you’re dealing with!” he yelled at her, pointing the barrel at her, hand shaking. Safety off. Tears stung his eyes. This wave of panic overwhelmed him. He needed to relax. But Price made it so hard for him to regain his cool that was in pieces on the bathroom floor.

“G-Get that thing AWAY from me, you fucking FREAK!!” she shrieked, trying to push him away. He was far stronger than she was, despite the fact he was a twig underneath all those fucking layers of clothes.   
Nathan was losing it. He has to get it back.

And the clanging of metal and brooms saved his life.

Where did that noise come from? In the split second his back was turned to the blue haired fuck, he heard the door violently slam open and then shut as quickly as it was shut.   
Thank god something fell before he almost killed her. That would be hard for Sean to cover up. Even though she was a mutt, she had a family that might’ve loved her and cared about her. One that would actually give to shits about her going missing….

Following the sound, he saw her. Max Caulfield. The girl he had seen pass him by in the dreary hallways with her earbuds playing some sort of serene and calming music. Her bright baby blue were always focused on her destination.

She took polaroids. What a fucking hipster...but she was cute. She had a sort of calm that Nathan envied but still, she was a lame as fuck hipster.

And of course, he was in his default jackass mode.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he snapped.

Max was on the floor, glaring back up at him. Her brows knit together in disgust. It was directed towards him and he knew it. Who else? He pulled a gun on some girl she didn’t know. And this was a girl he sort of had a crush on. This day could not get any worse for him.

“This is a GIRLS’ bathroom! I have every right to be in here!” she yelled back at him, lifting herself from the floor, trying to intimidate him.

Her eyes were focused on him, picking him apart like bad glue on a cheap card. Anger was all her eyes held.

“You know what? Forget it, I’m out.”

She stormed out and left him all alone again with his thoughts.  And all he could do was just be so grateful to this hipster pixie brat.

Nathan’s eyes stung. He needed to sleep. And put this gun away in his room.

* * *

 

Kate died last night. It wasn’t his fault. He swore he could never hurt Kate. It was all Jefferson. ALL HIM. Seeing her fall was watching an angel fall from grace. Screams were all he could hear.   
  


And he heard Rachel. He heard her shouts and screams for Jefferson to get his dirty, grimy hands off of her.   
_No. Nonnonononononononono not this again._

Nathan ran to try and catch Kate. Not this again. He couldn’t watch another girl die by his hand. Not Kate. She didn’t deserve this.   
  


And there was Max, screaming for Kate to please not jump. She was running at full speed, slipping on the wet concrete with a slam to her hip. Tears brimmed those beautiful blue eyes and his eyes met hers.   
The disgust was too strong for him to even bear. She had these tears of grief and hatred.   
  


_You…_ she mouthed to him.

The principal’s office wasn’t any better. She sent him the most hateful of glances through the whole ordeal.   
But her response surprised Nathan more than anything.   
  


“Jefferson made her cry. When a teacher sees a student already in so much pain as Kate was in, they should help them, NOT make it worse.”

Mark nearly huffed. Nathan almost let out a gasp. She was right to an extent. Mark was the reason why Kate jumped. But she didn’t know the whole story. Maybe this was a little part of Nathan’s revenge?   
Who cares? The only punishment he got was suspension from the Everyday Heroes contest and Jefferson was given a little slap on the wrist.

Max was let go and Nathan wanted to commend her for trying to save Kate, but as soon as she was dragged in, she fled. Being near him made her want to vomit. He hated seeing her be so hateful towards him but he felt like he deserved it.

**  
And that night, it would be a night where he would be an everyday hero when she wandered into the boys’ dorm clad in only her bra and panties, drugged out of her mind.**


	2. The Nightmare Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He finds her wandering in a daze. And there is only one person he knows who could inflict this sort of stupor on a girl. One man in particular

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY!!!! OKAY THESE UPDATES WILL BE SLOW AND IM SORRRRRRRYYYYYY.  
> But i hope you all enjoy this regardless

This was  one Vortex Party he did not want to attend. Though Victoria tried to coax him into try and have a good time, Nathan was not in the mood for getting wasted. Too much happened too fast. Nathan’s head was still spinning.  
Kate’s falling body would not leave his mind. No amount of vodka and rum would drown his thoughts or memories.

_‘Even Max fucking Caulfield is coming.’_

_‘That doesn’t mean shit, Toria. I’m not going._

And thank god he didn’t go.

The clock struck one thirty-six in the morning. Nathan couldn’t sleep.

Damn his insomnia. His only source of comfort was his mistress, nicotine.   
Grabbing his pack of Marlboro reds and his family heirloom zippo, he trudged out of his room to have a smoke or half of his pack.

Liquor was nice temporarily. Nicotine filled his lungs with a delicious toxin he just so craved. This was his choice of suicide. Death by nicotine.

He was in his pyjamas, and no one was up at this time besides him, and he saw her.   
Nathan saw Max wander around the boys dorm clad in pale blue panties and white bra. He stopped in his tracks and his heart dropped to his feet.

Never in her right mind would she even dare to just prance around so scantily clothed, especially not in the BOYS DORM.

But she wasn’t all there; not there mentally.   
Her eyes were unfocused. There was no destination set for her. They just seemed glazed over with uncertainty.  
Max’s face was blank and expressionless, as if nothing in the world mattered to her.

Nathan almost dropped his cigarettes. Shock hit him instantaneously. Max had to be drugged--she had to be. He had seen this facial expression on Kate. On Rachel. On so many girls that he knew the moment her usual vibrant blue eyes that held so much life, were empty.   
_Oh fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck! Not her!_

Nathan sped over to the half naked Max and threw his coat over her freezing bare shoulders to preserve some of her modesty. Or what was left of it. Who knew who saw her in her trek to the boy’s dorm?  
Pulling her close, having her hold onto his arm, he guided her over to his bedroom.

It was like hauling a dead weight. Her feet nearly dragged across the hard carpet of the dorm hallways.

And once they were in the safety of his room under a lock and key, he set her on his bed.

“Sleep it off, Caulfield,” he said lowly in his throat, trying to not startle her.

But how could he startle this shell of a person? She wouldn’t respond with any witty retort or quip.

Max didn’t move. Her eyes lazily moved around, trying to take in her new surroundings. But she wouldn’t remember this in the morning.

Nathan wanted to cry. This was not the Max he had a crush on.

No. She was inside and trapped by a drug infused cage. This Max couldn’t even get herself to lie down in his bed and try to sleep.

He let out the breath he had been holding since he saw her.   
Gently laying her down on his bed, he pulled the black and grey comforter over her semi-nude body.

“Please sleep.”

Max obeyed. Her eyes fluttered shut. Darkness washed over her and sleep engulfed her in its embrace.

Nathan felt like he couldn’t breathe. His heart was pounding. His palms were sweaty.  Fucking Christ he needed a cigarette to calm down.

Without caring about dorm rules, he lit up and took a long drag of the bitter tobacco and nicotine.

It was strong, like his reds should be. He sat on his small black couch and he tossed his zippo onto his coffee table.

Exhaling a cloud of smoke, he rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand.

There was only so many creeps he knew that would drug girls at Vortex Parties. Yet only one came to mind.

Nathan wanted to vomit. He choked on the smoke in his lungs and let out a series of coughs. Tears stung his eyes.

Not her. Please god not her.

But he knew how persistent Jefferson was. He would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Especially in the name of his “art”. An art that would make any sane person sick to their stomach. And Nathan was dragged into this with no rhyme or reason.

Sean made him do this too.

She stirred in her sleep. Nathan's deep slate eyes focused on her. Hair fell over her soft pretty face. Freckles were littered over her cheeks, her nose, and he saw some over her shoulders before he threw his jacket on her.

God only knows what could have happened if someone else found her, like Logan or Zachary.

Nathan felt sick to his stomach. The thought of anyone taking advantage of her while she was a zombie just sent his blood boiling. His fists clenched tightly. This was something he didn’t want to dwell on anymore.

He took another drag.

The clock read two in the morning.

There was no way he was getting any sleep now. His mind was whirling with fear and uncertainty for this girl lying in his bed, sound asleep. Her breaths were soft, her chest rising and falling gently.  Her soft snores were a sign that she was still breathing. Alive.

He blew smoke rings into the air above him, slumping into the hard cushions of his black suede couch. Nathan knew his neck was going to hurt like a bitch in the morning.

The room felt stifling. Heat trapped in this small dark box and Nathan was alone with his thoughts.   
And when the sun began to rise, sleep hit him like a sledgehammer. His snuffed out cigarette fell to the floor, abandoned.

* * *

 

Max stirred. The gentle morning light barely washed into the dark room she was in. Her head hurt. Her body felt light, minus for the heavy jacket she wore to bed.

_Wait..._

_this wasn’t her jacket._

__

Wide eyed, she took in her surroundings. The room smelled like stale cigarettes and fresh linen. Her nose wrinkled at the strange odor of strong cigarettes. One on the floor caught her eye.

Marlboro. Reds.   
Max scoffed.

But the room itself was just unsettling.   
Dark posters covered the grey walls and pictures of bound women made her cringe. The shutters were barely open, dusting the morning light like paint splatters over a grey and dismal canvas.  

She was hot under crisp chalk white sheets and the jacket felt warm over her shoulders. And just before she was to rub her tired cerulean blue eyes, the color of the jacket smacked her in the face.

Red. Harsh and in her face. The cuffs were black with obnoxious yellow twin stripes down the middle.   
This was…

Max’s head turned to hear a muffled snore come from her left. And there he was. The piece of shit that drove Kate to throw herself off of the Girls’ Dorm building roof. He was sleeping without a single care in the world.

Here she was, donning his signature red varsity jacket and her underthings.   
_WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES?!_

Buttoning up the jacket, she strode over to Nathan, jerking him awake.   
“Mmgh..what is--”

“Where are my clothes, you fucking jerk?!” She almost yelled, whacking him with his own pillow. His hands rose to block her fury induced blows to his face.   
Max’s face was flushed with embarrassment, freckles shooting with color. Big blue eyes were now focused on him and damn was he her newest target.

“Caul- CAU--CAULFIELD STOP!” Nathan yelled, breaking away from her flailing arms and her choice weapon.   
Rolling off his hard couch with a thump, he tried to get up to his feet to grab the pillow from her small hands. Max’s face was twisted in an angry snarl. She had every right to be confused but accusing him of taking her clothes? Ridiculous.

“Just calm down.” Nathan held up his hands to brace himself from her violent blows. Max was a madwoman.

“Like hell I will! Where are my clothes, Prescott?” she demanded angrily, readying to hit him again unless he gave her the answer she wanted. Not only was this just embarrassing, but this was Nathan Prescott. God knows what he could have done to her while she blanked out.

“I didn’t take them, I found you wandering around the dorm, flaunting your goods! You’re lucky it wasn’t one of those meat heads that found you!” He yelled back at her, his fists balling up. Nathan’s ears were getting red.   
Her eyes narrowed at him, making him her target once again.

“You’re lying.”

Nathan let out a scoff. “You think I would lie to you? Honestly Caulfield, do you have anything better to do than make an ass out of you and me? Has it ever occurred to you that I have morals too?” Dark blonde brows knit together. Slate blue eyes were full of worry and bags under his eyes were a blatant sign that he did NOT sleep in quite some time.

Max was taken aback. This was the same prick that almost shot the girl in the bathroom. This was the same douchebag that was partially responsible for Kate Marsh’s death.

But the look on Nathan’s face. It was one that suffered a sleepless night. It was one that was stricken with worry and fear.

He wasn’t lying.

She dropped the pillow and crossed her arms. “Well do you know who took them?”   
Nathan shook his head.

“I know you went to the Vortex party. And when I found you last night, you were completely out of it.” Nathan could feel himself become uneasy again. He had to tell her. He had to tell her everything…

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You might want to sit down.”

The moment the words ‘You were drugged’ left his lips, Max’s skin immediately felt cold, even under the heavy jacket. Her big blue eyes widened and his averted her horrified gaze. He couldn’t look at her. Nathan was ashamed.   
And telling her all about the Darkroom, about Kate...about Rachel, he wanted to crawl in a hole and die of shame. This was Mark Jefferson’s fault.

“I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t…”  
Max didn’t know what to do with this blubbering Nathan. Tears flowed from his usual hard eyes freely. Guilt consumed him.

“And you’re next on his list, which is why I’m going to ask you this.”

Max’s heart sank.

“I need you to stay in my room until he loses interest in you. Please…” He was begging her. Nathan Prescott was figuratively on his knees, begging her to just trust him. Just this once.   
If he could protect anyone, he had to protect the girl he found so intriguing. He had to protect her from the same fate that the others endured.

“I--”

“I always keep the door locked. And you shouldn’t answer the door if it isn’t me, okay? Please, MaxI need you to trust me.”

Why would he lie about this? Why would anyone for that matter lie about this?   
Max swallowed her fear and her pride and slowly nodded.

“Fine.”

* * *

 

It had been two days since Max returned to her dorm room. Nathan and her bunked in his bedroom, her taking his bed and him sleeping on his uncomfortable couch.  And every passing night, sleep evaded Nathan. His thoughts taunted and tormented him.

What if Mark found her?

When is this going to just blow over?

Max didn’t even go to class Monday morning. She was at his desk, watching youtube videos of cats while writing in her journal.

And that’s when Mark noticed that his newest subject had suddenly escaped him. Her usual spot in the back of the classroom was vacant and collecting dust.

He frowned.

Once his class session was over, he called Nathan into his classroom for a quick chat.   
“Nathan have you seen Max Caulfield around?”

The question was simple. But Mark saw the way Nathan looked at the little nosey girl. Nathan would almost turn to just get a full glimpse of her. His cheeks were tinted a soft pink when her hand almost brushed his in the crowded corridors of Blackwell.

Mark watched it all. And Nathan was careless as per usual.

Nathan’s skin began to crawl. “Wh-what? No! Why would I want to be around some pixie hipster bitch? Seriously Jefferson, you have to go to another low to ask me where your new picture whores are.”

Too defensive. Oh Nathan you just gave yourself away.

Mark grinned. “Alright alright, Nathan. You’re excused.”

“You’re damn right I am!”

Upon returning to his dorm room, Nathan was not ready for what he was going to come in contact with.   
Everything was a mess. Posters were half ripped off of the walls. Sheets were a disarray. His lamp was knocked over. And Nathan wanted to scream.

**  
Max was gone.**


	3. Trapped in a Cage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Nathan found Max. And what he found is part of the nightmare he so desperately tried to avoid. He fucked it up again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long hiatus. With school and my depression, its getting harder and harder to update. This AU is very long too so bear with me . 
> 
> This is where it starts to get pretty...messed up...
> 
> Be warned.

The clock struck five pm. The sunset washed over Arcadia Bay in deep golds and pinks, tinting the windows to seem as if they were painted  with watercolors. Clouds were light and like large cotton balls.

Bigfoots had a big homecoming game. Zachary Riggins vowed to win that game in Kate Marsh's honor.

No one was in that dorm. Nathan was all alone, save for Samuel by the Prescott dorms.

He was all alone. Alone in this hellscape of a room.

Only one place came to mind. He didn't even want to jump to that conclusion.

Nathan sank to his knees and tried his hardest to not scream. His bedroom looked like a crime scene.

Clothes were torn. Signs of struggle were evident on the bed and at the computer desk. Even his lamp was smashed again.

This couldn't be real.

_No. No no no no NO!_ Nathan felt tears sting his eyes.

Jefferson already stole Rachel away from him, so why did he have to be so _FUCKING_ defensive about Max? Why?

Nathan was an idiot. But there was only one place that struck him for where she could be.

He grabbed his truck keys and the gun that Sean had given him for his nineteenth birthday and scrambled out of the boys' dorm.

It would be the last time he would ever set foot in that dorm room again.

The drive to the vacant barn in northern Arcadia Bay was the most nerve wracking thing Nathan had done in months. Thumbs tapped the steering wheel, palms were sweating and there was a certain twitch in his face.

Nathan's heart hadn't beat this hard in   god knows how long.

His eyes were dry. Nathan prayed he wasn't too late...she still had to be okay. Okay for his sake.

Driving on the gravel road up to the barn made him feel sick. Seeing Jefferson's car still in the driveway brought a stinging pain to Nathan's dry eyes. He slammed the door to his truck shut and bolted down to the bunker hidden beneath straw and old hay.

Unlocked. Nathan's heart sank. Jefferson was here and god, what came next was something that would kill poor Nathan Prescott.

Swinging the Darkroom's door open, he saw Max. She was sitting, slumped against the white wall where Mark had always propped his victims up to be his dolls. She looked so utterly lifeless..

Max was stripped of the clothes she was given  back down to her underthings. Eyes glazed over.  She stared at the grey floor, shivering. The air conditioning made the room an oversized icebox.

Nathan's skin pimpled like goose flesh as he approached the drugged Max before Mark grabbed his shoulder.

"Ah finally, Nathan. You decided to come and join Miss Caulfield and I," Mark  murmured calmly.  But the fingernails that dug into Nathan's pressure point, making the young man wince in pain indicated anything but calm. This The pain was nothing he wasn’t used to, but still, it was discomfort.

"I haven't even started with her. There was a...delay."

Mark forced Nathan around and smacked him across the face. The impact was quick and forceful. Nathan’s face didn’t even recover from the stinging when he was knocked down to his knees with a sharp kick.

Harsh and powerful kicks were brought to Nathan’s ribs. He couldn’t even fight back. His body was too weak to even defend himself.

“You  thought you could have hidden her in your pathetic excuse for a sanctuary? Don’t you already know that you _can’t_ save her? You couldn’t save Rachel. What makes you think that you can save her?” Mark’s works  stabbed him like throwing knives with poisoned tips.

He knew that Mark was right. He knew he was. But there was this shred of hope left in Nathan to even believe that he could change this.

Nathan wanted to protect someone that mattered to him. Max meant--

“Answer me, Nathan.”

“I...I know I can’t…” Nathan coughed out. His lungs and ribs felt as if someone had placed bricks on him. He couldn’t breathe.

He turned his gaze to see Max sitting there lifeless. Her eyes fluttered and she lifted her head to look directly at Nathan and Mark. It was a lazy, unaware stare that brought tears to Nathan’s eyes. This was not the girl that assaulted him with his own pillow a couple days earlier.

No, this was someone who was merely a shell of that bright and  vivacious girl from before.

Mark pulled Nathan back up by the lapel and  cuffed him again for good measure.

He let out a pathetic yelp of pain when Mark’s hand made contact with the sore skin of his cheek and eyes. He could feel the skin bruising already. Nathan’s eye was swelling.

“That’s right. You can’t do shit, Nathan. And not even for her,” Mark’s calm voice was giving into the rage and irritation that was brought on from Nathan’s insolence.   
“But  for now, Nate.” Mark forcibly stabbed the syringe full of his weapon of choice into Nathan’s neck. Pushing down, the cold drugs had wormed their way into Nathan’s blood. “Sleep tight.”

****  
  
  


Nathan woke up groggy and sore. He could barely see out of his left eye now.

He tried to get up but...

_Oh fuck._

His wrists were behind his back, twist ties digging into his skin. His ankles were bound with duct tape. And despite his wiggling and attempts to free himself, they were all in vain.

Mark Jefferson was not one to half ass keeping his victims captive.

No, he couldn't have Nathan running away to get help.

"About time you've woken up, Nathan. Miss Caulfield and I have made so much progress since you fell asleep."

Mark's voice was the only thing Nathan heard and his head snapped over to see that monster moving Max's head to face him.

Her eyes were still lifeless. Max was a living corpse with glassy periwinkle eyes. Her chapped, pink lips were parted only to breathe.

She was was bound with duct tape and she shivered on the cold floor. Her skin chilled. The lack of modesty almost made Nathan sick to his stomach.

What was this sick fucker planning to do with her?

"I think that's enough photos for today. But I will definitely be back tomorrow. Behave will you, Nathan?" Jefferson almost cooed. That condescending voice of his made him want to scream.

And as Mark’s designer shoes scuffed their way out the bunker’s dark grey metal door, Nathan let out a loud yell of frustration and anger.

Tears burned his navy blue eyes. He flailed in his binds and brutally thrashed around in his chair.

“FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK!” Nathan screamed. No one would hear his loud cries for help. Max lifted her head up from the corner in the lonesome room and cocked her head to the side.

She was startled by his yelling and screaming, nearly  breaking her drugged trance.

She was made of glass now. One slip up and she would shatter so violently.  A maelstrom would be  released if Mark did not keep up with the dosages he gave her.

No, he and Nathan both learned from their mistakes with Rachel Amber...Oh poor Miss Rachel Amber.

It was all his fault. Nathan knew he fucked up badly this time.

And it would be a matter of time before he fucked this up again.

****  
  


There were no clocks in the darkroom, save for the one on Mark’s desktop computer, where he processed all the sickening photographs he had of the young women he kept captive here.

All sense of time was void to Nathan and a drugged Max.

Nathan couldn’t tell if it were night or day. This was their cage; a cage that kept a fucking crazy psycho and a drug whore away like zoo animals.

Nathan kept relentlessly wiggling out of his binds. The zip tie had cut into his pale skin, making dark purple bruises and cut marks that melded in with his scars of self-hatred.

His ankles ached from trying to kick through the duct tape. He kept trying with no avail.

A soft shuffle of feet came from across the room.   
“N-Nathan?”

Nathan’s neck nearly snapped from jolting up so fast to see a fearful looking girl in the corner of the Darkroom.  
Max woke up…  
She shook in sheer terror. Her eyes lit up, brighter and bluer than he had ever seen them before - they were almost luminous in its shade. Azure orbs met stormy seas and her lower lip quivered.

“Wh-where am I...Why am I tied up?” she asked him in a small voice. Oh god she’s scared.

“Max I…” He hung his head in shame. “I’m sorry.”

The locks clicked. Pointy toed shoes clicked along the concrete floor. A syringe was pinched between the fingers of the oh-so trusted teacher of Blackwell Academy, and his eyes were crinkled in a sort of sadistic pleasure as a wide grin stretched over the man’s face.

“Ah, you’re awake," Mark Jefferson's voice rang out.

 


	4. Deeper into Hell We Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max is...awake. And Mark won't let her go back to sleep anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There is implied sexual assault in this chapter. There will be implied assault for this part of the story since this is a four part fic. PLEASE. DO NOT READ IF THIS TRIGGERS YOU. 
> 
> This made me super uncomfortable to write. I'm sorry. And I also apologise for the brevity of this chapter as well. Finals are dawning upon me.

"Please no...don't...don't do this, please...!" Max begged, squirming in the chair Mark forced her into. The needle hovered over her neck as Mark struggled to keep the crying girl still. 

 

"Don't. Beg. I fucking hate begging," Mark snapped. His usual cool demeanor was being whittled away by this average hipster whore. She wouldn't stay quiet. 

Her cries and whimpers were silenced when he stabbed Max with the syringe, pumping more drugs into her system. And within a matter of minutes, she reverted back to being a catatonic zombie. 

 

Her body slumped back over in the leather chair, wrists still bound with duct tape and zip ties. But this time, her eyes were wide open, just how Kate Marsh’s deep emerald eyes were when Mark lie her on the floor and snapped photos of her helpless.    
Max was gone. 

 

Mark let out an exasperated sigh as he put the syringe back on the small table which had his prized camera and more small bottles of the mind numbing drugs. 

All Nathan could hear was the soft shuttering of a camera capturing a moment that stood still in this hellish nightmare and Mark’s muttering about how he needed to switch lenses soon. 

 

Nathan had stopped struggling in his binds. His eyes were dry again. The small shred of hope that he held onto so dearly had left his body.

 

Mark had begun to pose her in more...provocative ways. 

The tripod was set up. And all Nathan could do was watch and feel himself sink deeper into the tar pit of helplessness. 

 

Mark had untied her and lay her in the same way he had posed Rachel so many months ago. She lie with her arms bent in a way that could have made  someone conscious feel extremely uncomfortable.   
The floor was cold to the touch. Her skin pimpled and became like goose-flesh. Tiny little light brown hairs stood on end as her skin made contact with the hard ground and her body slumped as Mark posed her. 

 

She was like his little voodoo doll.  His... plaything. A toy. 

And all Nathan could do was just sit back and watch as the innocence was being sucked away from her, like a mosquito would the blood from its unassuming prey.    
Every movement Mark made towards her, every brush of his old and swinney fingers against her cold skin made Nathan’s stomach almost jump out of his throat. His insides churned.

 

The very moment Mark had decided that Max Caulfield would never again see the light of day, was the same day Mark had began to touch Max the same way he had touched Rachel. Against her own will, and when she was not even awake to stop him. A plaything she was, and now she was his little object of desire. 

 

Nathan had seen it all happen right before him. 

He could feel the bile inside him rise and burn his throat. 

  
“Eyes here, Nathan. I don’t want you missing any sort of...learning experience,” Mark cooed, taunting Nathan. That sound of silky and husky voice calling out to him made him want to have the strength to rip out of these damn binds of his. But showing any sort of emotion would give Mark  exactly what he wanted. 

 

Mark Jefferson wanted to see Nathan crack. He wanted him to explode violently, bring him to his utmost boiling point. 

 

But he wouldn’t budge. 

 

That is, until Mark had stopped drugging Max.    
Her silent and willfully accepting all that was out of her power had become far too tedious and boring for Mark. No. 

He wanted something that would exhilarate him, just like Rachel Amber once had. 

 

Her screams. The sight of her squirming and kicking brought the adrenaline rush he so craved, back to his system. And depriving Max Caulfield of those drugs would give him that. 

 

Soon, Nathan had stopped seeing the syringes lying by the cameras. The little clear bottles of the liquid Jefferson had always kept in stock had been hidden away and untouched. Dust had collected on them, dirtying them. 

 

Max had woken up from her sleep. She had curled up in the corner of the room, shivering from the lack of heat and clothing that the Darkroom had so provided to them. 

“Nathan, my body hurts...I want to go...please…” 

 

Tears of fear and uncertainty ran down Max’s cheeks. Her eyes burned. Her wrists had dark purple and blue bruises from the grip that Mark had used on her to keep her from squirming around. Hickeys littered from her neck, to her breasts. And Max had no idea. 

 

Nathan had seen it all. He had seen Mark take advantage of the girl he cared about. Right in front of him. And when Mark left them alone, a bloodcurdling scream was all he could let out. His vocal chords raw from his tormented cries. He released the pain of fifty dying men. 

 

“Nathan...please help me...please…”she whimpered. 

Nathan couldn’t respond to her. He wanted to free her so badly from this hell she did not deserve but--

 

The heavy metal door had swung open and the devil sauntered in to take his rightful place in his throne of hell. 

“Maxine. It’s about time you have woken up.” That voice. That smile. It was sickening. 

 

Max’s face had paled. The tears ran freely as she kept moving further and further into her hiding space.

“Get-get away from me...please I...have mercy on me please!” Max had cried loudly as Jefferson had kept getting closer and closer to her.    
  


She looked to Nathan for some sort of help, a shed of hope glimmering in her tearful baby blues. But he remained motionless. He didn’t even acknowledge her pleading by even looking up at her. 

 

The last thing Nathan had seen before she had succumbed to a begging, crying mess, and suffering at the hands at this...monster of a man, was him wiping her tears.    
“Now now, Maxine. There’s no need to be upset. You’re very familiar to this. You’ve just been asleep for it.” 

 

Her cries would be scarred in Nathan’s mind. And he could do nothing but watch. Watch this man defile the person he wanted to protect. 

  
And it was all his fault. 


End file.
